Easter eggs and meanings of the Celebration Tour

[Michael_Py 279]

Hi you all, let’s compile and put here all the Celebration Tour easter eggs, hidden and not hidden meanings that appeared on the Celebration tour, her stories and  explanations through the dates. 
 

I think there are so much more meanings that the ones we actually caught.

i will start with the resemblance of the Like a Virgin cake for the main stage, her explanation of the flashlights during everybody, the transition from Holiday to Live to Tell, etc, etc. 

What else did you caught? What do you think some performances mean? 

[Inco 10,128]

1 hour ago, Michael_Py said:

Hi you all, let’s compile and put here all the Celebration Tour easter eggs, hidden and not hidden meanings that appeared on the Celebration tour, her stories and  explanations through the dates. 
 

I think there are so much more meanings that the ones we actually caught.

i will start with the resemblance of the Like a Virgin cake for the main stage, her explanation of the flashlights during everybody, the transition from Holiday to Live to Tell, etc, etc. 

What else did you caught? What do you think some performances mean? 

Flashlights? Explain this point please

[Michael_Py 279]

18 minutes ago, Inco said:

Flashlights? Explain this point please

During everybody the dancers used flashlights during the whole performance, that was inspired by her first or her first performances at Danceteria where there wete no lights, Madonna friends had to bring flashlights to iluminate her during the performance . She explained that during some speeches before Burning Up 

[whiteheat 37]

There's so many easter eggs but here are some of my favs: 

-During her first speech in Tampa she said "I was doing those exact dance steps back in 1985... on the Virgin Tour," in reference to Into The Groove. 

-The jacket she wears in the 80s section, designed by Findikoglu, was inspired by one she wore when she was promoting Like a Virgin in Japan! Apparently she got it from a vintage store back then. 

Also there is this one thought I've had about her performance of Holiday. I feel like the jackets are meant to represent how the gay community had to hide during this time, which is why the Keith Haring pattern is on the inside of her jacket since it still wasn't something to be discussed openly. 

 

Edited May 14 by whiteheat (see edit history)

[Honey Little 4,474]

The Into the Groove dancers look like the people in the club scene in Desperately Seeking Susan sort of. And the dancer with the purple hat reminds me of Rosanna Arquette in some publicity photos around that time.

[androiduser 2,598]

56 minutes ago, Honey Little said:

The Into the Groove dancers look like the people in the club scene in Desperately Seeking Susan sort of. And the dancer with the purple hat reminds me of Rosanna Arquette in some publicity photos around that time.

I think the ID cards flaying across the screen right when Holiday starts, when M and the dancers enter the club also have a few references to real-life people.... I think it's most likely a scene from the movie that was adapted for the concert... especially the banter with the bouncer (Bob), it's definitely taken from the biopic script.

[dankpepe 1,063]

Just random ones I can think of:

• The graphics behind her during Burning Up feature some of her song titles (i.e. Angel, etc)
• Open Your Heart features artwork inspired by Tamara de Lempicka which is a nod to the music video, same with the chair choreography
• The stage represents Manhattan with uptown, downtown mid town, east and west.
• Before Holiday the dancers are dressed as famous people from that era (i.e. Andy Warhol, Basquiat, etc)
• The Like a Prayer costume is a nod to the Blonde Ambition tour costume.
• Papa Don't Preach dance is from the Blonde Ambition tour also.
• Holiday - the coat costumes are a nod to the Girlie Show rendition of this song.
• The stage designers said the round center stage is a nod to the Like a Virgin VMA performance.
• The pink wig could be a nod to the pink wig she wore in the 80s.
• During Nothing Really Matters, toward the end, the stage goes counterclockwise to symbolize going back in time.
• She also sings "in your arms" 4x to represent 4 decades.
• There are musical nods to Where the Party, In This Life, Updown Suite, Deeper and Deeper, and I Want Your Love

[GregVsMatt 3,795]

Also the Erotica performance is a tribute to the boxing scene from the Erotica performance at The Girlie Show

M watched The Girlie Show as she was preparing for the tour

[remixed224 510]

2 hours ago, GregVsMatt said:

Also the Erotica performance is a tribute to the boxing scene from the Erotica performance at The Girlie Show

M watched The Girlie Show as she was preparing for the tour

Here she's watching Madame X edit...

[Ayham 5,666]

2 hours ago, GregVsMatt said:

Also the Erotica performance is a tribute to the boxing scene from the Erotica performance at The Girlie Show

M watched The Girlie Show as she was preparing for the tour

I believe the whole boxing thing was made up to satisfy her new boyfriend. 😃😁😂 also it can be for Hard Candy era?

[Ayham 5,666]

4 minutes ago, remixed224 said:

Here she's watching Madame X edit...

The cursed years (2020 - 2022) 💀🥲

[EgoRod 5,628]

She uses lots of references to previous choreo and costumes, sometime re-imagined sometimes mixed around.

Holiday with the swing side to side and kicking, the long coats like in GS. Like a prayer see-through monk robes from BA, masturbation scene and ' clock-hands' dance to Papa Don't preach from BA.  Beast Within / Girlie Show. Boxers/Girlie show. Don' tell me line dancing from video and DWT. LAV little steps walk from the first tour. I keep seeing more everytime I watch it.

[Celebration 1,351]

This may be a long shot, but I was looking at pictures last night from Fritz Lang's Metropolis, the movie that influenced Madonna's Express Yourself video.

Well. The headpiece Madonna wore during Nohing Really Matters, looks like a headpiece one of the female robots wore in Metropolis. 

That could be a nod to the video, and the Blond Ambition performance of, Express Yourself! 

[Piksel8 658]

16 hours ago, androiduser said:

I think the ID cards flaying across the screen right when Holiday starts, when M and the dancers enter the club also have a few references to real-life people.... I think it's most likely a scene from the movie that was adapted for the concert... especially the banter with the bouncer (Bob), it's definitely taken from the biopic script.

I guess that reference was used when they did the MTV VIP commercial. Wondering if not getting into a club still haunts her. 

 

 

[Piksel8 658]

9 hours ago, Ayham said:

I believe the whole boxing thing was made up to satisfy her new boyfriend. 😃😁😂 also it can be for Hard Candy era?

The boots and robe were definitely from the Hard Candy photoshoot. Since the setlist completely ignored hard candy, those 2 items and the boxing theme could be the only reference. 

 

I read somewhere that they choose the boxing theme for Erotica to reference her battle with the media during that era. Now that I think about it, the backdrop would've been great if they mixed it with tabloids and news references at that time on how the media was being negative to her.

[androiduser 2,598]

30 minutes ago, Piksel8 said:

I read somewhere that they choose the boxing theme for Erotica to reference her battle with the media during that era. Now that I think about it, the backdrop would've been great if they mixed it with tabloids and news references at that time on how the media was being negative to her.

not sure if that's the only meaning, as the boxing moves were already present in the Erotica video with the boxing puppet, and this was shot before the media backlash. Of course, it could still represent the battle with the media, in the later performances.

[beastwivvin 23]

I love how she gets "In Bed with Madonna".  Very subtle.  This is also immediately before Justify My Love which is actually what happened.

[dankpepe 1,063]

I always wondered if there's some type of meaning to the dancer's costumes during Vogue. They all seem pretty random and I don't think Madonna does just random, everything in this show has some type of meaning.

[deathproof 10,772]

9 minutes ago, dankpepe said:

I always wondered if there's some type of meaning to the dancer's costumes during Vogue. They all seem pretty random and I don't think Madonna does just random, everything in this show has some type of meaning.

They’re different ballroom categories.

[whiteheat 37]

19 hours ago, EgoRod said:

She uses lots of references to previous choreo and costumes, sometime re-imagined sometimes mixed around.

Holiday with the swing side to side and kicking, the long coats like in GS. Like a prayer see-through monk robes from BA, masturbation scene and ' clock-hands' dance to Papa Don't preach from BA.  Beast Within / Girlie Show. Boxers/Girlie show. Don' tell me line dancing from video and DWT. LAV little steps walk from the first tour. I keep seeing more everytime I watch it.

She also does some moves from her original performance of Everybody at Danceteria in 1982!

[migsou 1,085]

On 5/15/2024 at 6:14 AM, dankpepe said:

• During Nothing Really Matters, toward the end, the stage goes counterclockwise to symbolize going back in time.
• She also sings "in your arms" 4x to represent 4 decades.

• I thought the 4x "in your arms" were for her four children that are with her during the show - specially because of the phrase that comes just before: "you're a shelter from the storm, give me comfort..."
• i wouldn't read that into the circling stage cause it goes counterclockwise during the whole song. also during "holiday" and "celebration". it moves clockwise during "vogue" and "like a prayer"

[EgoRod 5,628]

8 hours ago, dankpepe said:

I always wondered if there's some type of meaning to the dancer's costumes during Vogue. They all seem pretty random and I don't think Madonna does just random, everything in this show has some type of meaning.

https://www.houseofluna.org/ball-categories

[Michael_Py 279]

I didn’t notice until today that Ingrid Casares was feature in the “lovers” interlude backdrop video. 

What is Chris Rock doing there as well? ewwwww 

There were so many meanings also to Human Nature Doppelgänger saving her before Crazy For You. I think Madonna its singing crazy For you to her own rebel self, after all the backlash, the repression, she its still crazy for her. 

 

[Adriabs 272]

I still wonder what the transition between Hung Up and Bad Girl truly means, I feel like it might have something to do with her relationships with women being more in the shadows (????)

Also, this is kinda unrelated and I'm aware it's just my delusion, but I always felt like the transition between Bedtime Story and Ray of Light kinda sounds like a Nobody Knows Me sample

[androiduser 2,598]

Didn't notice this until the Rio broadcast, even though it's been there all along - when Tokischa calls M before Hung Up, the ringtone is La Isla Bonita